Strikers Blue's Christopher Mills, Mooroopna's Teagan Summers and Strikers Blue's Rajbir Singh do battle.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
The Shepparton Strikers Blue reaffirmed its Goulburn Valley Hockey Association Men’s League finals credentials with victory over Mooroopna, as the Shepparton Youth Club derby ended in a stalemate.
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Coming into the round 11 clash on August 1, the Strikers Blue contingent was looking to avenge a surprise 2-1 defeat at the hands of Goulburn Valley Grammar in the previous week to reinforce its top four spot.
Clearly in no mood to lose any more ground, the Blues dispatched of neighbours Mooroopna to send out a statement to their rivals, with a convincing 3-0 win down at Shepparton Regional Hockey Complex.
Earlier that day, the SYC interclub derby produced a thriller as the Yellow’s dropped points for the third time in their past four outings, while their Blue club mates held them to a 2-2 draw to blow open the minor premiership race.
This downturn in fortunes has enabled the Strikers Red to gain ground in the chase for the title, and they picked up three further valuable points in week 11 with a 6-3 win over GVGS.
With a bye week coming up in round 12, the pace setting Yellows will be watching on intently as the Strikers Red have the opportunity to draw level on points with the current frontrunners.
The Reds have played one game less than the Yellows, meaning that this game-in-hand versus basement outfit Mooroopna carries extra weight in the championship chase.
Meanwhile, SYC’s Blue insurgents certainly have reason to be optimistic about their chances of potentially upsetting the established top two, with the Strikers Blue to come next time out.
SYC Blue is five points adrift of top spot and two points off second, with a game in hand on their interclub rivals, the Yellows.
With just three games left of the league phase of the competition, the chase is on for sides to book a place in the GVHA Men’s League semi-finals, which start on August 29.
Meanwhile, in round 11 of the GVHA Women’s League, the Shepparton Strikers defeated SYC with a 4-0 triumph, as Mooroopna and Echuca-Moama played out a goalless draw on August 1.
